President Trump flouts military tradition with partisan Fort Bragg speech
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- President Trump used a Fort Bragg event to urge military to vote for Republicans.
- He introduced several GOP candidates and tied Fort Bragg funding to election results.
- Critics note the speech breached traditions of military neutrality.
President Donald Trump stepped on stage at Pope Army Airfield at Fort Bragg on Feb. 13 and told a group of military personnel to vote Republican.
He introduced five Republicans — Reps. Mark Harris, Pat Harrigan, Brad Knott, David Rouzer and Addison McDowell — seeking reelection, saying, “They have to be nice to you, because without your vote, forget it.”
He singled out Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from Southern Pines who represents the Fort Bragg area, saying Hudson is “always bugging me for more money for Fort Bragg.” He added that he and Hudson are talking about building “a big compound” for Bragg.
“We’re going to get that done for you,” Trump said. “Now, if the Democrats get in, it’s not going to happen. I guarantee you that, but we’re going to get it done.”
Then he turned his attention to former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley and asked Whatley to join him on stage.
“He’s running for the Senate, and if he gets in, you’re going to be taken care of,” Trump said. “If he doesn’t get in, we’re going to be stripping the military, like they always do — the Democrats.”
Sen. Val Applewhite, a Democrat, retired from Pope Army Airfield after 20 years of service, and now represents the bases in the state legislature. As Applewhite spoke to McClatchy Wednesday afternoon about Trump’s speech, her voice cracked and she acknowledged that she had become overwhelmed.
“It was shocking to me when I heard the comments, and I immediately knew that this is not appropriate for any military installation,” Applewhite said.
Campaigning at Fort Bragg
The Department of Defense has strict rules about campaigning on military installations.
A candidate may not campaign or hold election-related activities on a Department of Defense installation. A candidate who holds public office can visit Department of Defense installations for official business, but may not campaign. And members of the military are prohibited from wearing uniforms at partisan events.
“Traditionally, presidents respect the importance of maintaining a nonpartisan military and have refrained from making partisan statements in front of such an audience,” said Danielle Caputo, senior legal counsel on ethics for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit advocacy group. “President Trump’s statements disregard that tradition, but do not violate any law or rule.”
In a follow-up email, CLC media associate Janel Forsythe said DOD policy guidance states “that commanders and leadership are responsible for ‘implementation and compliance.’” Legal center experts say a base’s leadership is supposed to ensure a political candidate does not come to the base for political purposes, which suggests that the rules are focused on the officials rather than the politicians, Forsythe said.
She added that the guidance further states, “installation officials shall inform visiting candidates and their staff that candidates will refrain from making campaign or election-related statements.”
“The candidate who spoke about their campaign seemingly ignored the officials, likely violating the guidance,” Forsythe wrote.
Applewhite stressed the importance of the military remaining nonpartisan, saying that troops in the field are not worried about each others’ politics, but about maintaining their mission.
“To have the disrespect for the tradition of the military — in good order and discipline — we should all be angry about,” Applewhite said. “We would hope that the last organization that in this country that you would sow division in would be our military. Politics should not be part of that.”
Fort Bragg did not respond to an email requesting comment about Trump’s speech.
Troops used as Trump’s backdrop last time
Fort Bragg officials found themselves in the spotlight last June after Trump visited the base. Soldiers, in uniform, were used as Trump’s backdrop during a speech.
They were seen jeering whenever Trump mentioned his political enemies and cheering when they agreed with the president.
MAGA merchandise was also sold at Fort Bragg while Trump was present.
At the time, a commander at Fort Bragg told Military.com on the condition of anonymity, “This has been a bad week for the Army. For anyone who cares about us being a neutral institution, this was shameful.”
That statement was later quoted in a House committee hearing where questions about the event arose.
During Friday’s speech, the troops were in front of the president, so their facial expressions were not seen on camera. They maintained composure, only occasionally cheering, for example when the president mentioned that he should move to Fayetteville.
Attacking Senate candidate
Trump took the opportunity to attack Whatley’s political opponent: former Gov. Roy Cooper.
Cooper, a Democrat from Raleigh, is the frontrunner to be the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate.
“We want to keep this area safe, and we can’t do that without the leaders; and your ex-governor is not one of them,” Trump said. “It’d be a disaster if he got in.”
He then repeated a claim that Cooper released from prison a man accused of killing Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska. In fact, while the suspect appeared on a list of people associated with a legal settlement that freed thousands of prisoners years before the killing, he had already been released from prison months earlier, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Trump also suggested, falsely, that his administration would not release federal prisoners early. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump signed into law a bill that allowed 13,000 federal inmates to be placed on home confinement, instead of remaining in prison.
Applewhite said Trump’s speech undermined the authority of Fort Bragg’s leaders. She said junior enlisted military personnel would have been looking to them, knowing this speech was wrong and knowing that no one was doing anything about it.
“But when you have the commander-in-chief there, who is going to correct the commander-in-chief?” Applewhite said. “Everyone’s leadership was undermined that day.”
Trump wasn’t the only person campaigning from the podium at Fort Bragg.
When Whatley took the stage, he mostly talked about Trump’s record, but took a moment for himself.
“I am thrilled that he has asked me to run for Senate in North Carolina, and is giving me an opportunity to represent you and to fight for you and every other base that we have in this great state, to protect our interests, to make sure that America and our allies are going to be protected, because the highest, most important function for any government is to keep its communities and its citizens safe,” Whatley said, “and we have the best president right now to do that, and I am honored to be with him today.”
Asked about the speech, a spokesman for Whatley said: “Last time I checked, the Commander-in-Chief calls the shots for the U.S. Military.”
“Under Joe Biden, with Roy Cooper’s full support, our nation projected weakness but under President Trump we projected strength,” Jonathan Felts said. “Reality is that America, and the rest of the world for that matter is a safer place when the United States projects strength. The soldiers are Fort Bragg are key to our nation’s strength and we appreciate the opportunity to thank them in person for their brave actions.”
Applewhite said she wishes Trump and Whatley addressed issues affecting U.S. military personnel, like jobs for spouses, health care and the economy.
“We have food drives with people in uniform standing in line for food for their families,” Applewhite said.
“So it really was a travesty,” Applewhite said, “and I’m highly disappointed that we would use our military members as a backdrop to make political points.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
